From farms to large retailers, Repórter Brasil shows the tortuous path linking coffee workers' exploitation to global consumers - June 2021
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June 2021
From farms to large retailers, Repórter Brasil shows the
tortuous path linking coffee workers’ exploitation to
global consumers
. 01 .
MONITOR #10
STAFF
EDITOR
Marcel Gomes
“Certified coffee, rightless workers 2”
RESEARCH AND TEXT
Poliana Dallabrida (Field research and reporting)
André Campos (Supply chain assessment)
PHOTOS
Marcos Wieske
GRAPHIC DESIGN AND LAYOUT
Elaine Almeida
REPÓRTER BRASIL
ORGANIZATION OF COMMUNICATION AND SOCIAL PROJECTS
GENERAL COORDINATOR
Leonardo Sakamoto
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Marcel Gomes
CONTACTS
FINANCIAL COORDINATOR
biobr@reporterbrasil.org.br
Marta Santana
ONGReporterBrasil
ASSISTANT COORDINATOR
Marília Ramos @reporterb
ADDRESS (55 11) 2506-6570
Rua Bruxelas, 169. (55 11) 2506-6562
São Paulo - SP - Brasil (55 11) 2506-6576
CEP 01259-020 (55 11) 2506-6574
. 02 .
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION__________________________________________________________________________04
AN OVERVIEW OF THE INDUSTRY___________________________________________________________04
Background_____________________________________________________________________________04
Industry figures_______________________________________________________________________04
Production hubs______________________________________________________________________05
Export figures________________________________________________________________________05
Coffee supply and its connection with global markets______________________________________05
WORKING CONDITIONS_________________________________________________________________06
Types of labour violations identified____________________________________________________06
Slave labour_________________________________________________________________________07
Labour violations on certified properties________________________________________________08
Informal labour_______________________________________________________________________08
Labour law fraud_____________________________________________________________________10
Precarious accommodation_____________________________________________________________11
Disregard for agrochemical application rules______________________________________________12
Budget cuts compromises enforcement__________________________________________________13
Coffee harvesting in the context of Covid-19________________________________________________14
Impacts of labour reform______________________________________________________________15
Wages do not provide for living income______________________________________________16
CASE STUDIES_________________________________________________________________________17
CASE 1 - Córrego da Prata Farm__________________________________________________________17
CASE 2 - The Castelhana and Alvorada do Canta Galo Farms___________________________________19
CASE 3 - Cedro II Farm__________________________________________________________________20
CASE 4 - Terra Forte Group______________________________________________________________20
ROASTERS________________________________________________________________________23
NKG________________________________________________________________________________23
Melitta______________________________________________________________________________23
UCC________________________________________________________________________________23
Sucafina_____________________________________________________________________________24
RETAILERS____________________________________________________________________________24
Carrefour____________________________________________________________________________24
Coop_______________________________________________________________________________24
Jumbo______________________________________________________________________________25
Lidl________________________________________________________________________________25
Metro______________________________________________________________________________25
Tesco_______________________________________________________________________________25
FINAL REMARKS________________________________________________________________________26
Using the “dirty list” is only part of the answer______________________________________________26
Certification is flawed and needs to evolve_________________________________________________26
Complying with the law does not guarantee living wages____________________________________27
.3.
INTRODUCTION
This report addresses labour AN OVERVIEW production, the coffee indus-
and human rights violations that try collapsed. In 1929, a year
affect coffee workers in Brazil, OF THE INDUSTRY marked by crisis and the crash
the world’s largest producer and of the New York Stock Exchange,
exporter. In addition, the inves- Brazil produced 28.9 million sa-
tigation also maps connections BACKGROUND cks of coffee but exported only
14.2 million.
between the product and major
Brazil is the world’s largest co- Despite the crisis, Brazilian
multinational companies in the
ffee producer and exporter. Three production remained relevant in
coffee supply chain – including, out of every five cups of coffee the world market4 – and it still is,
at its final end, large European consumed in the world come despite the emergence of other
retailers that use imported cof- from Brazilian farms. In 2019, the producing hubs in Latin America,
fee in their private labels. country accounted for 34.7% of Africa and Asia.
Part of this research is the the world’s production.1
result of a field trip to southern
Minas Gerais in the second half
Coffee farming in Brazil star-
ted in the 18th century, with see-
INDUSTRY
of 2020. The report also provides dlings brought from French Guia- FIGURES
updated macroeconomic data na to the state of Pará. It found
about coffee produced in Brazil. ideal soil in the Southeast region In 2019, 3 million tonnes of co-
and was the country’s economic ffee were produced in Brazil – or
As a result of months of in-
driver after the so-called Gold 50 million sacks. Of the total har-
vestigation, it also points out
Cycle at the turn of 19th century. vested, 2 million tonnes were of
concrete examples of crimes
During the period known as the arabica type, the most consu-
and irregularities – including med coffee variant in the world,
the Old Republic, between the
slave labour – that are directly and 915.900 tonnes were of ca-
late 19th century and the early
or indirectly linked to the bu- 20th century, coffee was Bra- nephora, also known as conilon or
siness chains of local buyers, zil’s main export product. That is robusta – widely used to produce
exporters, roasters and, finally, when the country underwent its instant coffee.5
top world retailers. urbanization process, expanding Coffee plantations covered 1.8
The findings show that there rail lines and modernizing ports million hectares – 990,800 million
is still a long way to go to guaran- to facilitate transportation of co- in Minas Gerais alone, followed by
tee a supply chain that ensures ffee production.2 Espírito Santo, with 379.1 million
decent working conditions and From 1880 to 1881, the coun- hectares. The two states are the
wages for coffee workers. try produced 3.7 million 60-kilo- largest producers in Brazil. Of the
gram sacks of coffee. Ten years total coffee output in 2019, 49.7%
later, between 1890 and 1891, was harvested in Minas Gerais
production reached 5.5 million and 26.2% in Espírito Santo, which
sacks and jumped to 16.3 million produced 1.4 million and 789,600
in the 1901-1902 harvest.3 tonnes, respectively.6
With the fall in international Preliminary figures for the
prices and the country’s surplus 2020 harvest show that produc-
. 04 .
tion was larger than that of the
previous year: between 57 and
dônia, which harvested 137,100
tonnes of conilon coffee, produc-
COFFEE SUPPLY
62 million sacks of coffee grown tion takes place on small proper- AND ITS
on 1.88 million hectares.7 Increa- ties spread all over the state.12 13 CONNECTION
se in production from one year
to the other is explained by the WITH GLOBAL
two-year cycle of Brazilian pro- EXPORT MARKETS
duction, which alternates larger
and smaller harvests. This is due
FIGURES
Brazil’s coffee industry inclu-
to the characteristic of the coun- des 264,200 rural establishments,
Coffee remains as one of the
try’s plantations, which produce
top Brazilian export products. of which 188,300 produce arabica
in full sun and need to recover
Trade in unroasted coffee ranked coffee and 75,900 work with coni-
between harvest seasons.
11th among Brazilian exports lon. Arabica production in Minas
in 2020, together with fuel oils Gerais concentrates most of these
establishments: 119,700, accor-
PRODUCTION from petroleum. This accoun-
ts for 2.4% of the country’s to- ding to data from the 2017 Agri-
HUBS tal foreign sales. Coffee ranks cultural Census.18
8th among agribusiness export The coffee harvested on the
Of the 1.49 million tonnes of items.14 properties is passed on to pro-
coffee produced in Minas Gerais Brazilian coffee exports be- ducer cooperatives, local trading
in 2019, 1.47 million were of the tween January and December warehouses known as “brokers,”
arabica type – which accounts for 2020 totalled US$ 4.9 billion. or coffee trading companies that
70.6% of domestic output.8 Pro- During that period, 2.3 million include multinational groups such
duction hubs in the state are the tonnes of coffee were traded as Singapore-based Olam Interna-
regions of Matas, Cerrado, Man- worldwide – or 39.7 million sa- tional and Germany’s Neumann
tiqueira, Chapada, and Southern cks.15 Kaffee Gruppe (NKG). In the next
Minas Gerais.9 As the world’s largest produ- stage, green coffee beans are sold
In the same period, 81% of the cer, Brazil is followed by Vietnam to roasting and grinding industries
coffee produced in Espírito San- and Colombia, with 30.7 and and to instant coffee producers.19
to was of the conilon variety. Na- 14.1 million sacks, respectively, Exports may occur in various
tionwide, the state accounts for according to data from 2019. ways: directly between industries
69.8% of the production of that Brazilian production in that year and producers, sold by producer
type of coffee.10 Its production was 58 million sacks of coffee.16 cooperatives, or intermediated by
hubs are the state’s North region, The United States and Ger- coffee trading companies.
known as Conilon Capixaba, and many are the two main destina- In the domestic market, the
the southern Mountains of Espíri- tions for Brazilian coffee. They largest companies linked to the
to Santo.11 account for 18.19% and 16.86% Brazilian Coffee Industry Associa-
Coffee production is also re- of exports, respectively. Belgium tion, which represents roasting
levant in São Paulo, Bahia and (8.24%), Italy (7.27%) and Japan and grinding industries, are 3Co-
Rondônia. In 2019, the state of (5.11%) complete the list of ma- rações, Jacobs Douwe Egberts
São Paulo harvested 290,400 ton- jor importers. These countries re- Brasil, Indústria de Alimentos Ma-
nes. Its production was concen- ceive international shipments at ratá, Melitta do Brasil and Mitsui
trated in the regions of Mogiana their ports but are not necessa- Alimentos.20 In February 2020, the
and Centre-Western São Paulo. rily the final destinations for con- 3corações group acquired Mitsui
In Bahia, which harvested coffee sumption of processed coffee.17 Alimentos’ roasted and ground co-
on 180,200 hectares in 2019, pro- ffee division.21
duction zones are located in the
Plateau and Cerrado areas. In Ron-
. 05 .
OLAM facilities at São Sebastião do Paraís, MG
WORKING SLAVE
TYPES OF LABOUR LABOUR
CONDITIONS VIOLATIONS
IDENTIFIED From 2016 to 2020, 700 workers
were rescued from slave labour in
Employing unregis- 46 different coffee farms. In the
Despite being a world referen- tered labour same period, across the country,
ce, the industry is still pervaded 4,564 slave workers were rescued
in all economic sectors and acti-
by labour irregularities. In addi- Failing to pay legal
vities. In 2019 alone, 106 workers
tion, cases of slave labour are still benefits
were rescued from 12 properties
found virtually every year during dedicated to coffee farming. In
federal government inspections, 2020, 140 workers were rescued
Noncomplying with
harvest after harvest. in the coffee sector. The inspection
the rules for agroche-
Information gathered by Re- mical use and rescue operations took place
pórter Brasil shows that these on nine farms.22
cases include farmers supplying Failing to provide According to Article 149 of Bra-
companies and cooperatives that Personal Protective zil’s Penal Code, slave-like labour
are part of the business network Equipment (PPE) includes four elements: forced
of large global retail chains. labour, debt bondage, strenuous
working hours, and degrading con-
Providing preca-
ditions. Any one of the four ele-
rious accommoda-
ments is enough to configure the
tion
crime, whose penalties includes fi-
nes and 2-8 years’ imprisonment.23
. 06 .
Larissa Goulard, network coor- had to buy everything,” he recalls. res, from Varginha (MG), took part
dinator at the Reference Centre in In addition to mattresses and in two inspection operations that
Human Rights in Southern Minas food, workers were forced to buy rescued workers between July and
Gerais (CRDH Sul de Minas), says portable machines that help in August 2020. In one of them, the
that the problem is even more se- harvesting coffee, known as der- workers had come from a poor
rious than that revealed by official riçadeiras, incurring debts of R$ village near the farm.
statistics on workers rescued. “Lack 2,500-R$ 3,000 before they even “Employers usually don’t care
of reporting is a major obstacle to started harvesting. “Machine, about who provides the service.
combat slave labour crimes. Even maintenance, gasoline. We had They just want the job done,” says
so, our region has one of the hi- to buy everything. We also had to Passos. “What happens? A mid-
ghest rates of slave labour in Brazil, pay for food. I wasn’t registered dleman goes to the village’s squa-
mainly in coffee plantations.” either, and they had promised for- re and recruits people. He sets the
In coffee farming, slave labour mal contracts,” says João*. payment for their harvest work
affects especially migrants, who “The middleman himself en- and people go. It’s all informal.
work during harvest season from courages the workers to buy por- When that happens, everything
April to September. Coming from table harvesters and then takes already started wrong.”
the state of Bahia and the Jequi- them to a store he knows, which Without labour monitoring,
tinhonha Valley area in northern sells on credit,” points out labour the industry is open to child la-
Minas Gerais, workers arrive in inspector Leandro Marinho. In a bour. “It happened in one of the
groups, enlisted by labour mid- quick search on the internet, it is farms inspected in the presence of
dlemen known as “cats.” “In these possible to find that machine for the prosecutors. There were three
areas, there is less money in circu- less than R$ 700.00. “It’s a work teenagers between 14 and 15
lation and lower access to educa- tool, which should be provided to years of age,” she explains. Farm
tion. People will migrate to work them, and it’s not being provided. work is considered one of the
in whatever job they can find,” If employers want faster harves- worst forms of child labour, accor-
says Leandro Marinho, a labour ts, they should supply the equip- ding to the International Labour
inspector in Varginha (MG). ment.” Organization.24
João*, 32 years old, is an Marinho says that lack of ac- In the other operation, 13
example of a person who migrates cess to drinking water or toilets workers from towns in Bahia were
to work in coffee farming every and poor accommodation cha- rescued from slave-like conditions.
year. Born in Cristália, in the Jequi- racterize most rescue cases in ru- The facility adapted as accommo-
tinhonha Valley, he says that this ral areas. “You’ll find permanent dation was located next to the cor-
is his best source of income, since farm workers in bad houses, with ral. “Everyone was sort of huddled
opportunities near his hometown accrued vacations, etc., but the up there,” she recalls. “They were
are scarce. “Here, most of the jobs worst accommodations are those already highly indebted and no
are in coal, and it’s very hard work, for migrant workers, who usually PPE had been provided.”
so people from Cristália, Grão Mo- stay in abandoned houses. So- A new profile of harvest
gol and Botumirim always work in meone just brooms it quickly and workers comes to the attention
the coffee harvest in southern Mi- that’s it,” he explains. of labour inspector Leandro Ma-
nas Gerais.” João* never stopped harves- rinho. In previous seasons, they
He was rescued from slave-like ting coffee, even after the rescue. used to be mostly single men.
labour during an inspection ope- He says conditions have changed Now, entire families started to
ration in July 2018. As he recalls, little since the operation that res- work in harvest, especially young
upon arriving at the property re- cued him three years ago. “Things couples. Fathers go to work while
commended by another colleague remain pretty much the same in older children look after the litt-
who had already worked there, the industry.” le ones and mothers cook. “They
he was faced with very precarious Precarious work is not exclusi- used to pile up employees. Now,
accommodation. “There was no ve to migrant labour. Labour Pro- they pile up employees and their
house, there was no mattress. We secutor Letícia Moura Passos Soa- families,” Marinho observes.
. 07 .
LABOUR The cases analysed by Repór-
ter Brasil in 2020 also involve ow-
Union leader Jorge Ferreira
dos Santos explains that infor-
VIOLATIONS ON ners of certified farms that supply mality takes away workers’ basic
CERTIFIED coffee to retail chains in Brazil and rights. “Workers lose vacations,
abroad [see more in the chapter 13th salary, paid rest periods,
PROPERTIES on CASE STUDIES]. and also the possibility of reti-
ring with a pension. If they have
Although slave labour is com- an accident while working in co-
mon on certified properties, the-
se farms are not free from other INFORMAL ffee, no one is going to have that
family’s back. From a more hu-
labour irregularities, according to LABOUR mane point of view, such coffee
labour inspector Humberto Mon- creates poverty.”
teiro Casmamie, head of the Mo- Estimativas de 2014 indica- Jorge dos Santos is the lea-
bile Inspection Group of the state vam qEstimates indicated that six der of the Coordination of Ru-
of Minas Gerais. “Payment below out of 10 coffee workers were un- ral Employees of the State of
what had been agreed, bad food, registered in 2014.26 There is no Minas Gerais (ADERE) and has
no PPE and no toilets are some of recent research to confirm chan- been following the progress and
the violations found in large far- ges in this scenario. The general setbacks of the state’s coffee in-
ms,” he says. numbers on informal work in Bra- dustry for 14 years – especially in
In December 2016, Repórter zil show that informality has been southern Minas Gerais, Brazil’s
Brasil released a study on several on the rise, reaching 41.1% of the largest producing area.
labour irregularities on certified employed population in 2020, or “During harvest season, you
coffee farms, including unregis- 38.4 million people.27 have, say, 2,000 workers in a gi-
tered workers, illegal wage dis- The share of registered sea- ven municipality. In the off-sea-
counts and disregard for safety sonal workers is still small in the son, that number falls to 600
standards.25 In addition, farm ow- coffee sector. According to data workers. Both producers and
ners certified by UTZ, Rainforest from 2017, only 16% of farm workers know that there is a re-
Alliance and Starbucks’s C.A.F.E. workers had contracts that las- serve labour pool. Workers know
Practices have been fined in re- ted up to 5.9 months, which is that the season is over, jobs are
cent years for keeping workers in the duration of the coffee har- over, so they won’t run any risks
slave-like conditions. vest season.28 and then they end up accepting
Rural workers in a coffee farm
. 08 .
the conditions imposed by em- Not even union leaders, who population of about 14,000.30
ployers,” dos Santos concludes. understand the irregularity of in- “We estimate that farm owners
Unregistered labour does formal labour, escape that reali- have registered less than 10% of
not occur only among harvest ty. This is the case of Roberto de seasonal workers this year,” the
workers during harvest season. Souza Costa, president of the union leader says.
Labourers are also hired on a dai- Union of Rural Workers of Ibira- In Ibiraci, workers are staying
ly basis for different tasks in co- ci, in southern Minas Gerais. He more often in houses in town
ffee plantations and are usually earns about R$ 70.00 per day rather than in farm accommoda-
not registered. They are known worked. “You have no other op- tion. “Employers now avoid lea-
as diaristas (day labourers) or tion. If you ask the boss to regis- ving people in the farms. Nowa-
turmeiros (group workers) – in ter you, he’ll say it’s expensive days, they pile up migrants from
the latter case, when the job and won’t do it,” Costa says. Bahia in houses here in town,”
involves a fixed group that wan- The municipality of Ibiraci has says Eliane dos Santos, vice-pre-
ders from farm to farm. had the highest number of noti- sident of the rural workers union
Idomeno José de Andrade, 60 fications for slave labour since in Ibiraci.
years old, has worked as a day la- the beginning of the time series
bourer in Minas Gerais’s coffee in 1995 – a total of 185 cases.29
farms since 1988. However, he was Even with the pandemic,
formally registered only during a some 2,000 migrant workers
short period – 12 years. “Today, came to town for the 2020 cof-
it’s hard for me to retire because I fee harvest. In 2019, they were
wasn’t registered,” he says. 6,000 – almost half of the local
Idomeno José de Andrade, coffee worker at 60 years old
. 09 .
LABOUR LAW butions and the so-called Time of
Service Fund (FGTS).
from Adere-MG.
According to reports by union
FRAUD In the coffee sector, both per- leaders, labour inspectors and la-
manent and seasonal workers are bour lawyers heard by Repórter
Some of the labour rights gua- often registered with wages be- Brasil, it is also common for regis-
ranteed by Brazilian law inclu- low what is actually paid. That is a tered employees to have accrued
de maximum 44 weekly working maneuverer to reduce employers’ vacations and not be paid their
hours, paid vacations, paid rest on expenses. “The worker produced31 overtime correctly. There are still
Sundays, paid overtime, unem- R$ 2,000.00, but his paycheck says cases in which employers do not
ployment insurance, paid sick R$ 1,045.00 [Brazil’s minimum pay their duties related to em-
leave, and severance payment wage in 2020]. Then his 13th sa- ployers’ basic benefits – FGTS and
in case of dismissal. Employers lary and Time of Service Fund be- social security contribution.
must pay other mandatory bene- nefits will be calculated over R$
fits such as social security contri- 1,045.00,” says Jorge dos Santos,
Jorge dos Santos, unionist in Minas Gerais
. 10 .PRECARIOUS Since April 2019, 49-year-old
Mário* has lived with his wife in
for rent but does not commit
to doing the necessary mainte-
ACCOMMODA- a house on a coffee farm in Je- nance on the house. When the
TION suânia, southern Minas Gerais. couple moved to the farm, they
The farm supplies coffee to the went two months without elec-
Precarious accommoda- Regional Cooperative of Coffee tricity. “The people who used to
tion is not exclusive to seasonal Farmers of the Verde River Valley live here didn’t pay their bill and
workers. In some coffee farms, (Cocarive), based in Carmo de the company cut off the electri-
permanent workers often live Minas. The cooperative infor- city supply. I’d ask him to leave
within property boundaries. In med Repórter Brasil that it had work early to solve the problem,
2020, Repórter Brasil visited not been notified about alleged but he wouldn’t let me. It took
some examples of houses where illegal practices on the property. a long time for him to solve that
lack of maintenance and water The farm owner discoun- situation,” he says.
shortage were constant. ts part of Mário’s wages to pay
In addition to lack of electrici- were told to isolate at home. “I
ty, the couple and other workers spent two days without water
who live on the farm face water in that period,” he says. “When
shortages, even during the pan- I went to complain, the boss got
demic. In October this year, Má- mad at me and said he was going
rio* and his wife were in contact to settle our accounts so we could
with a person who later tested leave.”
positive for Covid-19, and they
. 11 .DISREGARD FOR are applied.
Camila* and the couple Ma-
ded by Camila* shows a tractor
spraying it on coffee trees next
AGROCHEMICAL ria* and Junior* worked on the to where the group worked. “We
APPLICATION same coffee farm in São Tomás used to take poison showers,”
RULES de Aquino, southern Minas Ge-
rais, for six, five and eight years,
she recalls.
Junior* was also in charge of
Coffee workers from proper- respectively. They left in Fe- applying agrochemicals with a
ties where labour irregularities bruary this year and now they sprayer attached to him, backpa-
were found told Repórter Brasil have gone to court to be paid for ck-style. He says that headaches
that they had never been provi- overtime and other labour rights were common after doing that.
ded with full Personal Protective denied during that period. Des- “I used to work with the Roun-
Equipment (PPE). pite being permanent workers, dup poison sprayer.32 Sometimes
During harvest, PPE includes they were never registered. it would break and I’d go to the
gloves, boots and leg protectors They had to bring their own supervisor and say: ‘Look, this
to prevent snake bites. In the rest work tools, food and water from sprayer is not working.’ It was as
of the year, lack of equipment home. In addition, they were of- good as saying nothing. He just
compromises workers’ health, ten exposed to poisons applied wouldn’t change it.”
especially when agrochemicals to the plantation. A video recor-
Fertilizer application by tractor
. 12 .BUDGET CUTS reduced the money for inspec-
tions against slave labour by up to
situation is critical,” he says. “In
January 2007, when I joined the
COMPROMISES 70%.33 The Bolsonaro administra- agency, we had 14 inspectors for
ENFORCEMENT tion imposed the worst cut since 47 towns. We are now eight ins-
2013, when the time series began. pectors for 52 cities. And the bu-
Recent cuts on the budget of For 2021, R$ 24.1 million were dget for displacements is getting
the Ministry of Economy’s Labour earmarked for operations to en- smaller every year.”
Inspection Secretariat (SIT) and re- force occupational health and sa- Even with budget cuts and the
duction in the number of labour ins- fety rules and labour benefits, and pandemic, 2020 saw a slight in-
pectors for field inspections com- for combating slave labour.34 crease in the number of workers
promise the fight against labour In Minas Gerais, labour inspec- rescued from coffee farms com-
violations and slave labour in Brazil. tor Leandro Marinho says that the pared to the same period in 2019:
The scenario has been wor- agency is understaffed and cannot 140 people were rescued in 2020,
sening since 2017 under Michel investigate all complaints. “Regar- over 106 in the previous year.35
Temer’s administration, which ding the number of inspectors, the
Federal labour inspector Leandro Marinho
. 13 .COFFEE HARVES- nas Gerais enacted a specific law pany (Emater-MG) published a
TING IN THE on coffee farms, which provides booklet with guidelines for pre-
CONTEXT OF for the adoption of measures to venting the new coronavirus
COVID-19 protect harvest workers.36 The during harvest season.37
state-owned Technical Assistan-
In May 2020, the state of Mi ce and Rural Extension Com
Photo of workers at rest without a mask
“None of that was observed in
the inspections I took part,” says
Varginha Labour Prosecutor Le-
tícia Moura Passos Soares. “No-
body was wearing masks. There
was no distancing, buses were
not being cleaned. Absolutely no-
thing. No control whatsoever, no
guidance.”
Labour Prosecutor Letícia Moura
Passos Soares
. 14 .IMPACTS OF LABOUR
REFORM
Drastic drop in union funds
The end of mandatory union contributions, which came into
force with the labour reform approved in November 2017,
profoundly changed union organization in Brazil, especially
in rural areas. Between 2017 and 2019, revenues from the
so-called union tax are estimated to have fallen by 96%.91
“We had eight unions in this area, but only two are still ope-
rating, and they are falling apart. This one won’t last six more
months,” says Izidio Barbosa dos Santos, president of the
Union of Rural Workers of São Sebastião do Paraíso (MG).
“At some point the union used to receive R$ 40,000 a year
in contributions. In 2020, it received R$ 348.00. I don’t even
know these enlightened people who contributed,” explains
Izídio dos Santos. About 1,600 people work on coffee farms
in the municipality.ossui cerca de 1,6 mil trabalhadores em
fazendas de café.
Izídio dos Santos
Cancelling membership
A strategy to drive workers away from unions has been im-
plemented in southern Minas Gerais, Brazil’s largest coffee
producing hub. According to union leaders interviewed by
Repórter Brasil, accounting firms hired by landowners write
standard membership cancellation letters for workers, who
just have to sign them and deliver them to their unions.
Eliane dos Santos
Their purpose would be to demobilize the category and weaken
union work. “I’m not even sure if workers know what they are
signing. When they come to bring the document here, we try to
talk them out of it, but it’s no use. They already have their minds
made up against the union,” says Eliane dos Santos, a union
leader in of Ibiraci (MG).
Roberto de Souza Costa, the president of the rural workers union
in Ibiraci, explains: “Accounting firms tell them: ‘You don’t need
the union anymore. If you need to terminate your contract, to
retire, you don’t have to go to the union. What do you need
the union for?’ Then, when harvest season ends, they settle
everything within companies, which cheat on their employees,
and then the workers come here with their termination papers
signed without understanding anything. I show them they have
accrued vacations and other unpaid benefits, and they ask me:
‘What should I do now?’ Then I show them their letters cance-
lling union membership, and that’s when they realize it.”
Standard membership cancellation letters
. 15 .WAGES DO NOT R$ 1,130.00. For 2021, the gover-
nment established a minimum of
forward, unfortunately.”
On the other hand, the last har-
PROVIDE FOR R$ 1,110.00 – R$ 2.00 below the vest was better than the previous
LIVING INCOME figure corrected for inflation.38 one. Even with the novel corona-
With the end of the government’s virus pandemic, international cof-
A living wage is one that gua- minimum wage increase policy, fa- fee prices remained high in 2020,
rantees workers’ autonomy and milies’ purchasing power has been varying between R$ 590.00 and R$
allow them to provide their fami- directly affected. 620.00 per sack.39 The pattern of
lies with decent lives. According Registered workers in sou- rising prices remains in 2021. On
to the Global Living Wage Coali- thern Minas Gerais – the largest January 8, arabica coffee was sold
tion, a living wage includes food, coffee production hub in Brazil – at R$ 625.71 per sack.40
water, housing, education, health earn about one minimum wage. “Ten years ago, they used to sell
care, transportation, clothing, and For employees who live within coffee at R$ 200.00 or R$ 280.00.
other essential needs as well as coffee properties, around 20% is Workers were paid R$ 10.00 per
provision for unexpected events. discounted to pay for rent, water measure. In 2020, coffee reached
Few coffee producing muni- and electricity. R$ 612.00 and they still paid the
cipalities have their own labour “What is left is something same R$ 10.00 per measure,” the
collective agreements. When the- around R$ 800.00,” Jorge dos San- union leader says.
re is such an agreement, the base tos estimates. “That’s not a salary “When we have hearings, em-
salary is very close to the national that values your work so you can ployers often argue that the indus-
minimum wage. In 2020, when improve your social situation, so try is undergoing a crisis, but what
Brazil’s minimum wage was R$ you can progress in life. Just look happens when the industry makes
1,045.00, coffee workers used to at the outskirts of cities that pro- big profits? Weren’t they suppo-
earn something between that and duce coffee. People are not going sed to provide more benefits?,”
Aerial view of a coffee farm in São Sebastião do Paraíso (MG)
. 16 .prosecutor Soares asks. Rainforest Alliance and UTZ are Alfenas area. The organization es-
In June 2020, certifier Rain- among the largest socio-environ- timated the gross living wage for
forest Alliance developed a me- mental certifications in the world the south and southwest of the
thodology for rural producers to and started merging in 2017. The state at R$ 1,629.00. At the time,
know how far they were from op- new brand will retain only the for- the minimum wage – and the base
timal earnings and could calcula- mer name. salary for workers in the industry –
te what a living wage would be in In April 2016, the Global Living was R$ 788.00,42 that is, less than
their towns.41 Paying living wages, Wage Coalition published a study half that amount.
however, will not be a criterion for conducted in Minas Gerais muni-
granting the certification label. cipalities around the Guaxupé and
CASE
STUDIES
This chapter describes specific
cases of labour irregularities and
THE PROBLEMS passed on to the farm owner.
While Maria Júlia Pereira was
slave-like labour found in coffee not notified, workers interviewed
In July 2018, an inspection ope-
farms. Repórter Brasil investigated in November 2020 by Repórter
ration found 15 people, including
the connections between these Brasil claim she used to pay them.
a 17-year-old teenager, working in
properties and retail chains in Bra- They also say that the Córrego da
slave-like conditions on the farm’s
zil and abroad. Prata Farm was a supplier of cof-
coffee harvest.44 At the time of the
fee seedlings to be replanted on
rescue, they told Repórter Brasil
other properties belonging to her.
that they used to work from 6 am
CASE 1 – CÓRREGO to 10 pm. The group had come João*, 32 years old, was among
the people rescued in 2018. He
DA PRATA FARM from Minas Gerais’s Jequitinho-
nha Valley area and they said that says the housing conditions were
precarious. “When we got there,
they had not have a single day off
The Córrego da Prata Farm there was no house, there was no
during the 90 days they worked
in Muzambinho, southern Minas mattress. We had to buy every-
there, and they only stopped har-
Gerais, belongs to Maria Júlia Pe- thing,” he recalls.
vesting coffee on rainy days. “And
reira, who owns another coffee In addition to mattresses and
if we stopped, the boss would get
estate in Nova Resende, 37.5 km food, workers were forced to buy
angry,” one of the workers said
away from Córrego da Prata. She portable machines that help in
during the inspection operation.45
is the former sister-in-law of Fe- harvesting coffee, incurring debts
At the time of the rescue, the
of R$ 2,500-R$ 3,000 before they
deral Deputy Emidinho Madeira property was leased to Elias Rodri-
even started harvesting. “Machi-
(PSB). Madeira’s father Emídio go de Almeida, who was notified
ne, maintenance, gasoline. We
Madeira owns two coffee farms by the operation and included in
also had to pay for food. I wasn’t
where cases of slave labour were the “dirty list” in April 2020.46 Ac-
registered either, and they had
found in 2015 and 2016.43 cording to the inspection, he used
promised formal contracts.”
to keep 80% of the coffee produ-
In addition to the slave labour
ced while the remaining 20% were
. 17 .case, Maria Julia Pereira is a de- worked on the farm on a perma- visit the site and did not know how
fendant in other labour-related nent basis. The lawyer explains it was managed,” he says. “You
lawsuits. One of these lawsuits that proving workers’ claims is one can’t hold someone accountable
was filed by a 42-year-old worker of the most difficult parts of the for something she wasn’t even
named Marcelo.* According to his process. “It’s very hard to bring aware of.”
report, he worked as a daily labou- witnesses in these cases. Some
rer on the property from May 2018 people are afraid to testify becau-
to June 2019. He used to perform se they think they won’t be able to CERTIFICATIONS
several tasks such as planting cof- get a job afterwards.”
fee seedlings, applying agrochemi- In 2019, Maria Julia Pereira’s
cals, harvesting and doing mainte- Boa Vista/Coutinho Farm, in Nova
nance in the property.
When he was fired, he says,
WHAT THE FARM Resende, was granted Starbucks’s
C.A.F.E. Practices certification. The
he was given his own work papers OWNER SAYS farm is part of a selected group of
back, which the employer had certified properties that supply co-
been keeping. However, only a 45- At the time of the rescue ffee to trading company Exporta-
day period had been registered operation, in August 2018, Maria dora de Café Guaxupé, according
on it, rather than the 13 months Júlia Pereira sent a note to to the company itself.
he had worked on the farm as a Repórter Brasil, through her lawyer The Santa Rita das Paineiras
permanent employee. In the law- Thiago Dini, in which she claimed Farm – Córrego da Prata’s new
suit, the worker seeks acknowle- to have bought the farm in late name – has also held the UTZ cer-
dgement of the employment re- 2016 and leased it in December tification since 2019. In April 2020,
lationship for all months worked of the same year to Elias Almeida, Elias Rodrigo de Almeida, then the
and payment of overtime. and that she was “unaware of any property’s lessee, was included in
In addition to working unre- procedures and occurrences on the “dirty list” due to the 2018 sla-
gistered, Marcelo* states that that property.” The lawyer, who ve labour case.
his working hours were similar to also represents Almeida, said that
those of workers rescued in 2018 he had “outsourced personnel”
during the coffee harvest, with and that he was “a victim, just like
the other workers.”47 In October
SUPPLY CHAIN
daily shifts of up to 12 hours.
He used to earn R$ 1,045.00, 2016, Almeida signed a Conduct Maria Julia Pereira sells her
the minimum wage for the cate- Adjustment Agreement with the farms’ coffee production to tra-
gory, and claims he was never paid Labour Prosecution Service in ding company Exportadora de
for overtime. “In most farms whe- Minas Gerais (MPT-MG).48 Café Guaxupé. The company
re I lived, you’d get everything ri- In February 2021, Maria Julia confirmed that it bought her co-
ght. Not there. Sometimes they’d Pereira’s lawyer reported to ffee from the Boa Vista/Coutinho
pay half a month together with Repórter Brasil that the property Farms, in Nova Resende, in 2019,
another month. It was always a continued to be managed by Elias and Santa Rita das Paineiras, in
mess, confused,” he says. de Almeida until October 2019, Muzambinho, in 2020.
In the lawsuit filed by Marce- when the lease agreement ended. The trading company also sta-
lo* against Maria Júlia Pereira at After that, she resumed the ted that it has never sourced cof-
the Labour Court of Guaxupé, the management of the farm, which fee from the farm where slave la-
judge ruled in favour of the em- came to be called Santa Rita das bour was found. On an email, João
ployer in November 2020. Paineiras. Her lawyer denies Paulo Custodio de Brito, head of
According to Celso Antônio workers’ reports that Córrego the company’s Sustainability De-
Barbosa Júnior, a lawyer repre- da Prata was jointly managed by partment, said: “We have never
senting Marcelo,* during the hea- Elias de Almeida and Maria Júlia purchased coffee from the Córre-
ring with the judge, the worker Pereira. “While the lease contract go da Prata Farm or from producer
was unable to prove that he had was in force, Maria Júlia did not Elias Rodrigo de Almeida.”
. 18 .CASE 2 – THE 2019, 51 workers – including three
teenagers aged 17, 14 and 13 –
SUPPLY
CASTELHANA AND were rescued from slave-like con- CHAIN
ALVORADA DO ditions at the farm. They were also
Ambos os fazendeiros são for-
migrants, had no formal contracts,
CANTA GALO and were paid less than the mini- Both farmers are suppliers of tra-
FARMS mum wage. Still, they used to pay ding company Nutrade Comercial
about R$ 300.00 per month for Exportadora, a member of the Nu-
The Castelhana Farm is loca- rented rooms in town. The accom- coffee program – the name given
ted in Monte Carmelo (MG) and modation was divided between to Syngenta’s coffee division.
belongs to producer Diogo Tude- whole families and single workers. Diogo Tudela Neto made sales
la Neto. The property has 1,200 There was no bathroom, to the company in August and No-
hectares and produces an ave- drinking water or Personal Pro- vember 2020. That is, shortly after
rage of 20,000 sacks of coffee a tective Equipment (PPE) at work labour inspectors found 81 unre-
year. The Alvorada do Canta Galo fronts. There was no place to eat gistered workers on his farm.
Farm is located in Campos Al- either. After the rescue, the em- Syngenta – Nutrade’s owner –
tos, in the Upper Paranaíba area ployer signed an agreement with stated that it follows the case of
(MG). Its owner is José Maria Do- the Public Prosecution Service Diogo Tudela Neto and that it pays
mingos da Silva. (MPT) and paid R$ 363,000 as close attention to “the process of
compensation for individual moral regularization by the producer and
damages and R$ 500,000 for col- the possible developments and re-
solutions of this case to be able to
THE PROBLEMS lective moral damages.49
take the necessary measures.”
José Maria Domingos da Sil-
Both properties have under-
gone inspections in the past two WHAT FARM va traded coffee with Nutrade in
2020 and 2019 – also after the
years. Unregistered workers were OWNERS SAY inspection operation that found,
found at Castelhana, among other in his case, slave labour. Regarding
irregularities. At Alvorada do Can- Repórter Brasil contacted the this supplier, the multinational
ta Galo, in turn, dozens of people Tudela Castelhana Coffee group stated that the case was closely
were rescued from slavery. owned by producer Diogo Tudela monitored by Nucoffee in 2019.
In July 2020, a team from the Neto by email and telephone but Syngenta also stressed that Silva
Mobile Inspection Group of the received no reply until this report has not been included in the “dir-
Minas Gerais Labour Superinten- was closed. We were unable to ty list” of slave labour and that it
dence found 81 unregistered sea- hear producer José Maria Domin- continues to monitor the case.
sonal workers at Castelhana. They gos da Silva. He was contacted by The “dirty list” is a federal re-
had left the town of América Dou- Reuters after the rescue but decli- gister usually updated every six
rada in Bahia to harvest coffee and ned to comment.50 months.51 It is now the main ins-
had been working on the property trument used by companies to
for 37 days without any payment. restrict trade relations with those
The irregularities found at the
site include unrecorded work hou- CERTIFICATIONS who use slave labour. The docu-
ment lists the names of employers
rs, charging for work tools such
as gloves used in harvest, no paid The Castelhana Farm displays caught in government inspections
committing the crime. They are
weekly rest, and lack of toilets and UTZ and Rainforest Alliance logos on only included in the list after an
its website. In response to Repórter
washbasins at work fronts. Brasil, UTZ stated that the proper- administrative procedure reviews
The inspection carried out at ty’s certification has expired. Its the inspection operation, which
the Alvorada do Canta Galo Farm Rainforest Alliance license, in turn, guarantees their right of defence.
took place a year earlier. In August has been suspended. José Maria Domingos da Silva’s
. 19 .administrative procedure has not
been concluded yet.
WHAT THE FARM SUPPLY CHAIN
Asked by Repórter Brasil about OWNER SAYS When slave labour was found,
the destination of the coffee ac- the producer was a member
quired from both employers, the When the “dirty list” was dis-
of the Cerrado Coffee Farmers
trading company did not say which closed, Helvécio Sebastião Batista
Cooperative (Expocaccer), one of
customers the product was sold to. – owner and administrator of the
Brazil’s largest coffee cooperatives
Cedro II Farm – stated that the
and exporters.
charge of using slave-like labour
In April 2019, Expocaccer sent
CASE 3 – CEDRO II was not true. “It’s all false. These
guys from the Ministry terrorize a note to Repórter Brasil informing
FARM people who are creating wealth that it had suspended business
operations with the producer and
for this country,” Batista told Re-
excluded him from all groups of
The Cedro II Farm is located in pórter Brasil in April 2019.” My
certified and non-certified coffee
the Serra do Salitre area in the so- farm is certified. I hold Nespresso,
producers.59 Consulted again for
-called Triângulo Mineiro. Its ow- Starbucks, Rainforest, UTZ. All up
the 2021 report, the company
ner is Helvécio Sebastião Batista, to date.”55
confirmed that Helvécio Sebastião
who has his own coffee brand –
Batista is still suspended.
Café Fazenda Cedro. The product
was even marketed under a subs-
cription-based club for specialty
CERTIFICATIONS
coffees,52 but the business rela- At the time of the inspec-
tionship was interrupted in April tion, the Cedro II Farm held the CASE 4 – TERRA
201953 after his name’s inclusion Rainforest Alliance certification.
on the “dirty list” of slave labour When the owner was included in
FORTE GROUP
came to light. the “dirty list,” the certifier infor- João Faria da Silva, owner of
med Repórter Brasil that it would the Terra Forte Group, is conside-
suspend his label. The Rainforest red one of the largest individual
THE PROBLEMS Alliance label awarded to the Ce- coffee producers in the world. The
dro II Farm was linked to a group São Paulo-based farmer owns Ter-
In July 2018, an inspection certification granted by the Cer- ra Forte Importação e Exportação,
operation at the Cedro II Farm rado Coffee Farmers Cooperative a group that operates in interna-
found six workers in slave-like (Expocaccer).56 tional coffee trade, in addition to a
conditions. There were no toilets, Helvécio Batista was also certi- warehouse and five coffee farms.60
drinking water or places to eat at fied by UTZ. The label, UTZ said at The company has faced financial
the time, was granted to a proper- problems in recent years. It filed
work fronts. They used to live in
ty adjacent to Cedro II.57 for judicial recovery, which was
poor hygiene conditions according
Batista was also certified by approved in December 2020.61
to the inspectors that rescued Starbucks’s certification program
them. Work shifts could last from C.A.F.E. Practices and supplied
6 am to 11 pm, often without any
weekly paid rest.54
coffee to Nespresso, a brand con-
trolled by multinational company
THE PROBLEMS
In addition to the six workers Nestlé. At the time, Nespresso in- While João Faria da Silva has
rescued during the operation, la- formed Repórter Brasil that it had never been caught using slave
bour inspectors found 19 other suspended coffee purchases from labour or committing serious la-
people in slave-like conditions in the producer. In a statement, Star- bour irregularities, he is a central
other properties managed by Hel- bucks said it would look into the character in a land conflict that
vécio Batista. As a result of the case and, if the facts were confir- threatens the survival of about
rescue at the Cedro II Farm, the med, its trade relationship with 450 families in Campo do Meio,
owner was included in the “dirty the property could be suspen- southern Minas Gerais.62
list” of slave labour in April 2019. ded.58
. 20 .The area has been occupied for session of part of the area and 14 Seasonal workers who live in the
22 years by family farmers and for- families were evicted. Plantations, Quilombo Campo Grande camp also
mer employees of sugar company houses and a school were demo- report a series of labour irregulari-
Usina Ariadnópolis Açúcar e Álcool lished after a court ruled in favour ties in the Terra Forte group’s farms
S/A. The company used to be ma- of Jovane Moreira.64 in Campo do Meio. Luciana Ribeiro
naged by Companhia Agropecuária At the same time, the business- Amorim, 47 years old, and Gisele Ro-
Irmãos Azevedo (Capia), which fi- man leased the area occupied by the drigues, 23, worked in coffee harvest
led for bankruptcy in 2002 without landless workers to coffee producer at the Campo Verde Farm. They say
paying its labour duties. Six years João Faria da Silva. The contract be- that there was no toilet, no water
earlier, when its activities were sus- tween them grants part of the 4,000 to wash their hands and no place to
pended, former employees occu- hectares of the mill’s total area for change clothes near the plantation.
pied the area and the Landless Rural coffee and sugar cane plantations.65 Employees had to buy Personal Pro-
Workers Movement (MST) estab- Two of the seven farms belonging to tective Equipment (PPE) themselves.
lished the Quilombo Campo Grande the Terra Forte group – the Campo “They used to give us only rakes, sie-
camp on the site.63 Verde Farm, with 1,056 hectares, ves and protection glasses,” recalls
Since then, businessman Jovane and the São José do Indaiá Farm, Luciana Amorim. “If you wanted
de Souza Moreira, manager of the with 620 hectares – are adjacent anything else, you had to buy it. They
bankruptcy estate of the Ariadnó- to the camp.66 The agreement be- won’t give you gloves; they won’t
polis sugar mill, has been fighting in tween Silva and Moreira was used give you anything to protect your
court to evict the families. In August by the judge to justify the eviction legs and hands.”
this year, a court ordered the repos- that occurred in August this year.
Aerial photo of ruins of the plant that originated the MST
occupation in Campo do Meio (MG)
. 21 .Gisele Rodrigues and Luciana Amorim
Gisele Rodrigues recalls that
the payment per measure of
CERTIFICATIONS In the case of Rainforest Allian-
ce, the certification granted is of
harvested coffee is only revea- The Terra Forte group displays the Chain of Custody type, which
led at the end of the working at least four certifications on its allows Terra Forte to handle and
week, which made it impossible website. One of them is Starbu- market coffee from certified far-
for workers to know how much cks’s C.A.F.E. Practices. In an inter- ms. Terra Forte is also registered
they were working for. “You work view with Repórter Brasil in Sep- as an intermediate buyer of coffee
on coffee for a whole week and tember this year,67 Megan Lagesse, certified by German label 4C, whi-
only afterwards you’ll know what the company’s communications ch stands for Common Code for
your payment is,” she says. “For and PR manager for Latin America the Coffee Community. According
each measure, which is 60 litres, and the Caribbean, said that Terra to 4C director Gustavo Bacchi,
he’d say a different value. For Forte is certified to sell coffees to no batch of 4C coffee was traded
example: you worked on a group the company and has farms certi- by Terra Forte in 2019 or 2020.
of plants and he’d paid you R$ fied by the program, but she did
17.00 in one place and then R$
10.00 in another. The maximum
not reveal the properties’ names.
In addition to Starbucks’s cer-
SUPPLY
he’d pay there was R$ 18.00.” tification, João Faria’s business CHAIN
group also holds good practice la-
WHAT THE bels from UTZ, Rainforest Alliance In addition to plantations,
and 4C. UTZ had granted its label to the Terra Forte group directly ex-
COMPANY SAYS the Campo Verde Farm in April this ports the product grown on its
year. After Repórter Brasil’s con- farms, as well as coffee purcha-
Repórter Brasil tried contact the tact, the organization decided to sed from other rural producers.
Terra Forte group by phone and email suspend the certification.68 Accor- The company has been one of
about workers’ claims to the repor- ding to its representatives in Bra- the largest Brazilian coffee ex-
ters but never received any replies zil, the documents provided by the porters in the past ten years. Its
to its questions. The company did certifier hired to audit the farm do warehouses in São Paulo and Mi-
not provide any stance on the land not mention conflicts in the area nas Gerais can store hundreds
conflict in Campo do Meio either. next to the property. Certification of thousands of coffee sacks.
will remain suspended until an in- The previous chapter provided
ternal investigation is completed. a list of cases of rights violations re-
. 22 .ROASTERS
lated to suppliers of major trading
companies operating in Brazil – Ex-
NKG UCC
portadora de Café Guaxupé, the On an email to Repórter Brasil, The British subsidiary of UCC
Nuccoffe program (Syngenta group), NKG confirmed its business rela- replied by email that it had no
the cooperative Expocaccer, and Ter- tionship with Nucoffee, Expocaccer direct relationship with and did
ra Forte group. All of them operate and Exportadora de Café Guaxupé, not deliberately purchase co-
in the foreign coffee trade and have but it claimed that no company in ffee produced on the proper-
customers in the European market. the group has knowingly bought co- ties mentioned in this report.
Repórter Brasil identified the ffee from the properties mentioned The company explains that
trade relationship between these ex- in this report. “NKG’s local trading green coffee beans originating in
porters and important brokers/roas- partners in Brasil have assured that Brazil are purchased by UCC Co-
ters based in Europe. Through them, they don’t trade with coffee from ffee Services Switzerland – the
coffee beans are processed and pre- producers that are on the “lista suja,’” group’s subsidiary in Switzerland.
pared to be sold in the retail market. the company’s statement adds. This company’s suppliers, in turn,
According to 2019 and 2020 cus- A world leader in green coffee include agribusinesses and glo-
toms records, Exportadora de Café services, NKG claims to be commi- bal commodity traders that have
Guaxupé supplied coffee during that tted to “eliminating forced labour “their own business controls and
period to German multinational and any other form of labour ri- policies to mitigate risk in their
Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG),69 ghts violations within [its] sphere supply chain,” which follow the
which operates in several stages of of influence” and to require its su- multinational’s Code of Conduct.75
the supply chain. It also supplied ppliers to follow the guidelines of “The green coffee supply chain
German roaster Melitta70 and Swiss the company’s Code of Conduct.73 is complex, and in some coffee
and German subsidiaries of UCC71 – a growing countries and the agri-
multinational group based in Japan. culture sector, there are inhe-
Nucoffee, in turn, supplied co-
ffee to green coffee bean buyer Su- MELITTA rent social risks and vulnerabili-
ties. Brazil is one of the largest
calina.72 Like Guaxupé, it also traded coffee producing countries in the
coffee with the aforementioned NKG The Melitta group said it strictly
world and faces its own social,
group and European subsidiaries of follows controls, protocols and ru-
economic and environmental
roaster UCC. les intended to guarantee quality
challenges,” says an excerpt from
The cooperative Expocaccer is and reliability in the entire process
the note sent to Repórter Brasil.
another company that supplied of coffee production and supply.
“We are committed to ethical
coffee to NKG, UCC and Sucafina. As for the properties and produ-
business practices and mitigating
According to 2019 customs re- cers mentioned, they replied only
risks in our supply chain within
cords, Terra Forte also traded its that Exportadora de Café Guaxu-
our sphere of influence. We are
production with UCC. pé is one of its suppliers and has
confident in our practices and bu-
Repórter Brasil contacted the- subscribed to its Code of Conduct.74
siness controls and […] will conti-
se four importers about the cases According to an email sent
nue to develop these to support
investigated and that involve their by spokespersons for the Melitta
the sustained eradication of glo-
supplier networks. The companies’ group, “violation of principles and
bal human rights abuses,” it adds.
stances are presented below. values stated in the code can result
in excluding the supplier from our
list of approved suppliers for coffee.”
. 23 .You can also read
